3.20.18 / New York / New York

“Muse Muse” Explores the Relationship Between Artist and Curator

An intimate showcase of identity

[‘Red Nails’ by Pixy Liao curated by Marie Tomanova]

In history you might find large bodies of an artists work featuring and inspired by a single person who continuously served as an evocative form for the artist, representing beauty itself: the muse. But our relationship with art and artists themselves has changed over time, becoming more impersonal in favor of speed and novelty. The new exhibit “Muse Muse” at the Czech Center explores these relationships by enlisting a handful of curators (mostly artists themselves), each showcasing a transformative experience between the subject and the artist, the artist and the curator, and the work and its viewers. The curators include Thomas Beachdel, Marie Tomanova, and Richie Shazam, among others, who selected eclectic works by the likes of Aaron Young, Pixy Liao, and Martine Gurierrez (respectively), and many of the works come from young, emerging artists who capture the tone of modern times in their take on identity. The role of ‘curator’ is central to this show; these intimate connections offer something deeper than what people typically consume in this fast-paced world, where anyone with a working knowledge of Google image search is defined as a curator. But the show isn’t a critique of digital — many of the curators and artists are active in our current technological environment. Instead it takes a close look at their roles, and how both the curators and the artists choose their subjects as a way of informing and expressing their identity. In that sense, they both become muses, to each other and to the world around them.

“Muse Muse” is on display through April 6th, as part of an ongoing series at the Czech Center titled ‘New Bohemia Exhibition’ celebrating the 100th year anniversary of the First Republic (Republic of Czechoslovakia).

[Grace Ahlbom curated by Antonia Marsh Shane]